Where the landscape has been filled with solar parks and wind turbines in recent years, we must also take small nuclear reactors into account in the future. In the country, initiatives for such Small Modular Reactor (SMR) are sprouting as mushrooms. In Hoogeveen the discussion is cranked by municipal interests.
The political party wants an investigation into a small nuclear reactor, inside or just outside the municipality. Last winter’s energy crisis gave councilor Geert-Jan Walda fabric to think. According to him, the Netherlands must be less dependent on other countries for the supply of energy.
Durable sources such as wind and sun do not generate enough energy, while nuclear energy is always available. That is why Walda feels something for a nuclear reactor. And no, that reactor does not become colossus than in Borssele, including cooling towers. “There are new types with techniques where you do not need cooling water. Those high towers will not come.”
Gemeentebelangen wants to initiate a discussion about a Hoogeveen nuclear reactor. Next month the party is organizing an information evening with residents, in order to start a ‘dialogue’. Although Walda does not hide his enthusiasm. “In a number of countries there is already an SMR that is functioning. And the question is whether we as a community should invest. It is usually commercial parties who look at whether such a reactor is feasible.”
After the framework, professor Machiel Mulder explains more about the SMR: